Part 1 of a prog rock-minimalist classic, in two contemporary transcriptions, on an audiophile-grade LP transfer. At the age of 19, the guitarist/composer Mike Oldfield could hardly have anticipated the enduring legacy of his debut album. Tubular Bells fused the instrumental rock style of Cream and Rick Wakeman with the experimental minimalism of Terry Riley. It also established the new label of Virgin Records as a home for innovative British artists in many genres. More than half a century on, the album has influenced countless musicians as one of the best-selling ever albums by a UK musician, selling 15m copies worldwide. Side A of the original album had a life of it's own from the beginning, designated by Oldfield as 'Opus One'. Marcel Bergmann traces influences of South American & Latin, Balinese, Irish, Celtic, rock and minimalist sources in the work. A conversation with Jeroen van Veen in 2005 was the catalyst for him to put his long-time love of the album at the service of a transcription for four pianos. This work branched into a separate version for pairs of pianos and synthesizers, which seemed to present more practical prospects for performance. As well as immersing himself within Oldfield's original album, Bergmann went back to a live-recorded version of the album and the orchestral version scored by one of the musicians on the original, David Bedford. Bergmann's arrangement thus retains all the multi-layered rhythmic and textural richness of the original Tubular Bells, while orienting the feel of the piece in the direction of the classical minimalism for which van Veen has become known as an authoritative exponent. This new LP transfer on high-grade vinyl is designed to take advantage of the special immediacy and richness available on high-end analogue equipment to bring Tubular Bells to life as never before. - The LP version of a highly successful CD issue of the arrangement for 4 pianos of the iconic Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield. - Tubular Bells, released in 1973, is the groundbreaking debut album by British multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield. Blending progressive rock, classical, and folk music, the album became famous for it's experimental structure, with it's two parts spanning nearly an hour in total. The music is entirely instrumental. - What makes Tubular Bells unique is it's layered composition, with Oldfield playing all the instruments himself -over 20 in total- including guitars, keyboards, percussion, and, of course, tubular bells. The opening piano motif, featured prominently in the 1973 film The Exorcist, became iconic and contributed to the album's commercial success. - The arrangement for 4 pianos recorded here is by Marcel Bergmann, who is joined by Elizabeth Bergmann, Jeroen van Veen and Sandra van Veen.

Until 20 years ago, the figure of Antonio Salieri seemed destined to remain under a cloud of widespread disrepute, in the shadow of his complex relationship with Mozart and unsubstantiated criminal allegations that have come down to us through a thread that runs from Aleksandr Pushkin's poetic drama Mozart and Salieri (1830), later set to music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1897), to Milos Forman's famous film Amadeus (1984). In reality, Salieri, in late 18th-century Vienna, enjoyed a stature that Wolfgang could only dream of: court composer, conductor of the Italian opera and, above all, maestro di cappella of the imperial court - in other words organiser and manager of the Hapsburgs' entire musical life. An esteemed teacher and founder of the Vienna Conservatory, he had among his pupils Beethoven, Hummel, Schubert, Liszt, Meyerbeer and Czerny, and in the course of a long compositional career he created more than 40 works for musical theatre, numerous sacred and vocal compositions, as well as a smaller number of symphonic and chamber works. The best-known section of Salieri's instrumental production consists of the six concertos for one or more soloists, among them the two for keyboard included here; these are works that the composer did not see fit to print, and the manuscripts are preserved in the Austrian National Library. The Concertos in C and B flat were written by the 23-year-old composer in 1773 for solo 'cembalo' and an orchestra consisting of two oboes, two horns, strings and basso continuo. As Danilo Prefumo, author of valuable writings on Salieri's instrumental works, warns, 'for Italian musicians, the term cembalo could at the time indifferently indicate harpsichord and fortepiano'. Listening to and analysing these two works reveals a balance pursued and achieved between a typically Viennese sense of measure and attention to structure, and bursts of whimsy, ornamentality and gallantry akin to the expressivity of the London (Johann Christian) Bach. The solo writing never makes truly virtuosic demands, although it does require agility and a crisp, pronounced timbre. The Sonata in C for harpsichord is the only composition of it's kind, as far as we know, in Salieri's legacy, and it is given here in it's first recording. It is unusually subdivided into six concise movements, all set in the same key and characterized by an elementary harmonic progression. The linearity of the language, the transparency of the melodic line and the ease of execution indicate a score that might have been a keyboard sketch of the embryo of a Serenata or Cassazione, two genres that are often attested in the composer's catalogue. Other information: - Recorded September 2024 in Sacile (Italy) - The Sonata in C appears in it's first-ever recording - Catena plays a Fazioli F278 piano - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Umberto Berti and profiles of the soloist, ensemble and conductor - Italian liner notes available at brilliantclassics. Com - Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) was an Italian composer and conductor, famous in his time for his operas and sacred music, but less known today for his instrumental works. His reputation has been clouded by rumors of rivalry with Mozart, which modern scholarship largely discredits. Salieri was a highly respected court composer in Vienna, and while he was primarily recognized for his vocal music, he also composed several instrumental pieces, including piano concertos. - Salieri's piano concertos, though not as numerous or as widely celebrated as those by contemporaries like Mozart, offer insight into the classical style of the late 18th century. His Piano Concerto in B-flat major, composed in the 1770s, is one of his few surviving works for keyboard and orchestra. It reflects the elegance and balance typical of the Classical era, with clear melodic lines and a restrained yet expressive use of harmony. - Unlike Mozart's more virtuosic concertos, Salieri's piano concertos focus on lyrical expression rather than technical display. His concertos often feature a dialogue between the soloist and orchestra, emphasizing melodic beauty over complexity. - Played by Italian pianist Costantino Catena with the Accademia D'Archi Arrigoni, conducted by Giulio Arnolfi. In Luca Ciammarughi's book on pianists Catena is credited with 'combining virtuoso chiselling with a cantabile of absolute sonorous beauty. "

The masterpiece 'beyond Time' that is the Quatuor pour la fin du Temps first saw the light of day in Barrack 27 of the World War II prisoner-of-war camp Stalag VIII-A in Gorlitz, Silesia, performed by it's composer Olivier Messiaen on piano along with fellow prisoners Jean Le Boulaire on violin, Henri Akoka on clarinet and etienne Pasquier on cello. The unusual ensemble forces were dictated by what musicians were available in that environment of deprivation, and the prisoners' coping mechanisms in response to it played a part: Akoka's clarinet and the singing of birds during dawn watches with Pasquier inspired the 3rd movement, Ab�me des oiseaux for solo clarinet. As Messiaen himself explained before the concert, it is the first six verses of the Book of Revelation Chapter 10 that inform the piece as a whole. Starvation in the camp had provoked in him vivid, colourful dreams of the Angel's Rainbow, and the End of Time represented eternity in the face of the mortality confronting the internees. The sensory deprivation he experienced while imprisoned caused (or exacerbated) his synaesthesia, such that his hearing of harmonies and his vision of colours became blended in his mind. The work's difficulty is well known; in Gorlitz, from musicians already unbalanced by Messiaen's unconventional rhythms, the composer demanded extreme and unusual instrumental effects: dynamic extremes, unheard-of force and maximum precision. Clarinettist Akoka complained about overly high notes and long phrases; violinist Le Boulaire about wide, inhumanly slow string melodies. But Messiaen's serenity at the piano instilled confidence, making the impossible possible and raising everything to a higher level. On a formal level, the eight movements of the Quatuor, linked by symbolic correspondences, reflect the biblical perfection of the number seven: the six days of Creation followed by the day of Rest, which is prolonged into Eternity becoming an eighth of indefectible light and unalterable peace. 'I composed this quartet to escape from snow, from war, from imprisonment and from myself,' Messiaen said. But the religious silence that enveloped the premiere demonstrated the Quatuor's ability to raise everyone in it's first audience along with him, above the barbarity, hunger and cold. Today, hearing this music that is 'alien to earthly beauty and pervaded by the idea of God', we perceive it's essence 'beyond Time', imbued with faith and religiosity. Other information: - Recorded February 2018, February 2019 and December 2023 in Perugia - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Donatella Meneghini and biographical information on the artists - Italian liner notes available at brilliantclassics. Com - Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) composed his Quatuor pour le fin du temps" (Quartet for the End of Time) 1940-41. The work was written during Messiaen's internment at Stalag VIII-A, a German prisoner-of-war camp, where he was held during World War II. Despite the harsh conditions, Messiaen composed this eight-movement piece for a unique ensemble: clarinet, violin, cello, and piano, which were the instruments available in the camp. - Inspired by the biblical Book of Revelation, particularly the angel's proclamation of the end of time, the Quatuor explores themes of eternity, divine grace, and apocalyptic vision. Messiaen, a devout Catholic, saw time as transcended by divine love, and the piece reflects his fascination with spiritual and mystical concepts. - The music is known for it's otherworldly beauty, complex rhythms, and innovative use of modes of limited transposition, which create a timeless, suspended feeling. The movements range from intense, fiery expressions of divine might to serene, meditative reflections on eternity. Premiered within the camp before an audience of prisoners and guards, Quatuor pour le fin du temps remains one of the most important and profound chamber works of the 20th century. - Played by Davide Bandieri, Francois Sochard, Joel Marosi and Maria-Liisa Marosi. - Davide Bandieri has already successfully released numerous recordings for Brilliant Classics, including the Complete Chamber Music Works for Clarinet by Von Weber (BC 95531) and, together with Joel Marosi and Maria-Liisa Marosi, Clarinet Trios by Fruhling and Zemlinsky (BC 95394).

On the English musical landscape of the second half of the 18th century, the name Elizabeth Turner stands out as a rare example of a female musician flourishing on British soil. She was successful singer on London's stages between about 1740 and 1756, as well as a composer and harpsichordist. Few of her biographical details have come down to us: her date of birth is unknown, and her year of death (1756) is inferred from reports in English newspapers of the time. The number and dates of printed references to her singing (the earliest is from March 1744) suggests a premature passing that interrupted an acclaimed vocal career. Rivalled only by her fellow singer-composer and contemporary Elisabetta de Gambarini (1731-1765, a Londoner of Italian descent), Elizabeth Turner alternated her activity on the stage with composition, publishing two volumes. The first, Twelve Songs, With Symphonies and a Thorough Bass for the Harpsichord (London, 1750), is a collection of English folk songs; the second, A Collection of Songs With Symphonies and a Thorough Bass. With Six Lessons for the Harpsichord (London, 1756), places 19 songs on texts by British poets alongside 6 lessons for harpsichord. The 'Lessons' genre was one very much in vogue in mid-18th-century England, as evidenced by Purcell's A Choice Collection of Lessons for the Harpsichord or Spinnet (1696), the aforementioned Gambarini's Six Sets of Lessons for the Harpsichord (1748), and Thomas Arne's VIII Sonatas or Lessons for the Harpsichord (1756). Turner's Six Harpsichord Lessons here receive their first complete recording. Each is divided into several movements, in the manner of a sonata. The style is often similar to that of the companion songs in her volume, whose melodies refer distinctly to the models of the tradition (from Purcell down to Boyce, via Thomas Arne and Maurice Greene). This is music intended for refined and cultured amateur performers, whose performances were moments of social conviviality where playing constituted pure pleasure. Yet in a society, such as England's, that relegated the role of women in music to the horizon of amusement, entertainment and domestic pastime, the figure of Elizabeth Turner emerges with disruptive and revolutionary force. Her sort of revolution is not one that demands a paradigm shift, it does not aspire to break the mould, it does not have a vocation for destruction: it is a gentle revolution, made up of elegance and grace, and precisely in it's gentleness it calls out to be heard, an invitation we cannot decline. Other information: - Recorded March 2024 in Silvelle (Italy) - Booklet in English contains liner notes by Maddalena Bonechi, as well as a note from the performer and her biography - Costanza Leuzzi plays a French double-manual harpsichord (anon. , after Pascal Taskin; renovated 2020, Andrea Di Maio) tuned to the Young II temperament at a=415 - Italian liner notes available at brilliantclassics. Com - Elizabeth Turner's (?-1756) Six Lessons for Harpsichord, published in 1756, the year of her death, is a significant contribution to 18th-century keyboard music, reflecting the stylistic characteristics of the time. Little is known about Turner herself, but her work stands as one of the few harpsichord collections by a female composer during that era, making it a valuable historical artifact. The Six Lessons are structured as suites, each consisting of multiple short movements, such as minuets, and gigues, which were popular dance forms in Baroque music. - Turner's compositions exhibit a blend of French and Italian influences, which were prevalent in English harpsichord music of the period. The pieces are characterized by their elegant melodic lines and ornamentation, typical of the French style, alongside rhythmic vitality that hints at Italian practices. The works are accessible for amateur performers, suggesting they were intended for domestic music-making rather than professional concert settings. - The Six Lessons offer insight into the musical tastes and domestic entertainment practices of 18th-century England, particularly for women, who were often encouraged to learn keyboard instruments. Turner's work is a rare example of a published female composer in a male-dominated field. - Costanza Leuzzi, a pupil of Roberto Loreggian, wrote a dissertation on the life and work of Elizabeth Turner. With the purpose of giving new life to Turner's music, Costanza also founded an ensemble of young musicians and gives concerts where she combines the musical performance and the storytelling of the English composer's life. - The interest in unknown authors and forgotten musical literature is the main focus of Costanza's musical career, which aims to share lost masterpieces that deserve to be rediscovered in our time.

Many masterpieces have been composed over the centuries for the cello, that member of the string family whose timbre is said to most closely resemble the human voice. Scores of monumental works, both in the chamber and concerto genres, have been created for this attractive instrument: from Bach to Bloch, Boccherini to Britten. Dutch composers have also shown interest in the instrument, especially in the 20th century, composing works that feature not only the cello but also the abilities of virtuoso cellists they admired, whose playing breathes life into the Dutch music of this century, adding it's melodious voice to the music history of all nations. Henriette Bosmans (1895-1952) at first studied piano with her mother, only taking up composing at the age of 17. She sharpened her abilities in this art through lessons with Cornelis Dopper and Willem Pijper. Bosmans performed in various chamber music ensembles, appeared as a soloist and gave lessons, and as a pianist she championed contemporary music. She is particularly remembered for her art songs, chamber music and concertos. Her work evolved along her career from a Germanic style to one influenced by French impressionism, her Poeme for cello and orchestra being a fine example of the latter. The work is dedicated to Marix Loevensohn, principal cellist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra, with whom she often performed. Willem Pijper (1894-1947) studied composition with Johann Wagenaar, and his progress was astounding: within a few years (from 1918 to 1922) he became one of the most advanced composers in Europe, each successive composition of his going a step further. Although considered a proponent of atonality, Pijper's harmonic complexity is always in service of musical expression. His Cello Concerto is also dedicated to Marix Loevensohn, who performed it at his own retirement concert as principal cellist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Feeling that the orchestra overshadowed the soloist at times, Pijper revised the Concerto's orchestration in 1947. The pianist and composer Leo Smit (1900-1943) studied composition at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Bernard Zweers and Sem Dresden. He taught analysis and harmony at the Amsterdam Conservatory from 1924 to 1927, after which he resided in Paris until 1933. There he came under Darius Milhaud's influence, which introduced a French aesthetic to his music, and he was exposed as well to Igor Stravinsky's neoclassicism. He returned to Amsterdam in 1937, establishing himself as a music pedagogue, and remained there until he was deported to Auschwitz in 1943, where he perished. His lucid, intelligent and subdued style is most clearly apparent in his chamber music. Smit also composed several orchestral works and concertos for various instruments, among them his Concertino for cello and orchestra. Hans Kox (1930-2019) studied piano with Jaap Spaanderman and composition with Henk Badings. His debut as a composer came in 1953, and he went on to receive numerous commissions from the Netherlands and abroad, with many of his works appearing on CD. He taught at the Conservatory in Utrecht. His Cello Concerto (1969) was commissioned by the Eper Muziekkring (the erstwhile Music Society of the eastern Dutch municipality of Epe) in honour of it's fifth anniversary. Other information: - Recorded December 1993 at the Concertgebouw Haarlem - Trilingual booklet in English, German and Dutch contains liner notes on the composers and the works - The Cello concertos by 20th-century Dutch composers reflect the dynamic evolution of classical music during this period, marked by a blend of modernism, neoclassicism, and unique national character. - This CD presents 4 Cello Concertos by Dutch composers: the late romantic language of Henriette Bosmans (1895-1952), the Neo-classical and sometimes jazzy idiom of Willem Pijper (1894-1947), the vibrant Concertino by Leo Smit (1900-1943), who tragically died in 1943 in the Sobibor extermination camp, and the Cello Concerto by Hans Kox (1930-2019). - Played by 4 outstanding cellists: Heinrich Schiff, Quirine Viersen, Pieter Wispelwey and Dmitri Ferschtman. The Netherlands Radio Chamber Orchestra is conducted by Ed Spanjaard. Another gem from the NM Classics catalogue, the label of music from The Netherlands.

This third instalment in Brilliant Classics' French Cello Sonatas series features the phenomenal composer Louise Farrenc (1804-1875), who is enjoying a much deserved revival amid contemporary focus on women composers, and the enigmatic and formidable Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888), renowned for his complex compositional language and extreme piano virtuosity. Farrenc was a French composer, virtuoso pianist and a teacher of the Romantic period. Her compositions include three symphonies, a few choral works, numerous chamber pieces and a wide variety of piano music. Her Cello Sonata in B-flat, Op.46, in three movements, was one of her last compositions (1859). The treatment of the two instruments, especially the piano, with it's extensive use of tremolo, broken octaves and scale passages, indicates inspiration taken from Beethoven's cello sonatas as a model. The opening movement, Allegro moderato, glides along effortlessly. A lovely Andante sostenuto, full of ornamentation serves as the middle movement. The finale is a lively Allegro. The work of French composer and virtuoso pianist Charles-Valentin Alkan possesses a unique blend of complexity, innovation and emotional depth, positioning him as one of the most distinctive Romantic composers. Known for his formidable technique and reclusive nature, Alkan's compositions were marked by their technical demands and unorthodox structures, attracting both admiration and mystique. His Cello Sonata in E, Op.47 stands out as an example of his flair for blending instrumental colour and thematic development. Composed in 1856 (three years before Farrenc's), this piece is an intriguing exploration of the cello's expressive range, juxtaposed with the piano's virtuosic potential. It is structured in four movements, each showcasing the composer's penchant for unexpected turns and rich harmonies. The first movement introduces a lyrical yet intricate dialogue between cello and piano, establishing an interplay that continues throughout the sonata. The third movement, marked Adagio, highlights Alkan's capacity for profound, almost spiritual expressiveness, contrasting the vigorous and playful nature of the final Allegretto. This combination of heartfelt emotion and formidable technical demands makes the work a true test for performers. Though not as frequently performed as mainstream Romantic sonatas, Alkan's Cello Sonata has been rediscovered for it's inventive composition and serves as a testament to his ingenuity and the depth of his often-overlooked musical legacy. Other information: - Recorded 2024 in Moscow - Booklet in English contains liner notes and profiles of the artists - This third CD in a unique series of "French Cello Sonatas" presents two works from the Romantic period, the cello sonatas by Louise Farrenc and Charles-Valentin Alkan. - The sonata by Alkan is a bold, substantial work in rich romantic idiom. Alkan's superhuman pianism is reflected in the challenging piano part. The works of female composer Louise Farrenc receive more and more recognition nowadays. Her Cello Sonata is a full blooded romantic work, a gem in the genre. - Marina Tarasova is one of the most renowned cellists of today: 'Her playing is generous in tone, full-blooded in expression, passionate and confident, evidently fired by love for and commitment to the music.' Gramophone. She is winner of international competitions in Prague, Florence, Paris, and a laureate of the Tchaikovsky competition in Moscow. She began playing the cello at the age of six and studied at the Gnessin School with Alexander Fedorchenko and at the Moscow Conservatoire with Natalia Shakhovskaya. Her vast repertoire spans the 17th century to the present day. She has worked with many renowned musicians, such as Mikhail Pletnev, Mariss Jansons, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Kurt Masur, Eduard Grach and Yuri Bashmet. - Marina Tarasova's piano partner is the excellent Ivan Sokolov. - The first volume of French Cello Sonatas (BC96566) presented works by Gabriel Piernei (1863-1937), Eidouard Lalo (1823-1892) and Charles Koechlin (1867-1959); the second volume... Vincent D'Indy (1851-1931), Leon Boellmann (1862-1897) and Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937) (BC 96821).

Albert Harris (1916-2005) was an English musician who worked in Hollywood for most of his life as an orchestrator, arranger and composer for several of the big film Studios and for such pop icons as Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack and Cher. He was born in London and studied piano from age 6, becoming also a self-taught guitarist. His knowledge of the guitar enabled him in later years to compose pieces specifically for it (his Variations & Fugue on a Theme by Handel was recorded by Andres Segovia). In the mid-1930s he began to make a name for himself as a session musician in London where he featured on many recordings, most notably as session guitarist with the Lew Stone band, his delicate but swinging improvisations enhancing many of Stone's records during 1934/35. Harris came to New York in 1938 and started playing piano in big bands across the US then began studying at the NYU College of Music, where he earned a doctorate in 1944. He finished the PhD remotely, having moved to Los Angeles in 1942, where he studied composition with Mary Carr Moore and Eugen Zador and conducting with Richard Lert. He served as professor of orchestration at UCLA and was Assistant Musical Director for broadcaster NBC from 1946 to 1949. Written in three movements, the Sonatina is one of the most emblematic pieces in Harris's catalogue. Popular elements from his adopted land, linked to graceful writing attentive to melodic construction, make this guitar composition one of his best. The Suite was composed in 1972 and features seven dance movements with modern and elaborate harmonies similar to those of jazz, especially in the Waltz. Homage to Unamuno was written in 1972 in tribute to it's dedicatee, a symbol of Spanish liberal thought and a high representative of Spanish literature. The short Intermezzo was included in a collection of compositions that appeared in the Classic Guitar Society's periodical magazine, Guitar News, in 1952, and despite it's brevity the elegance of Harris's language remains. Perhaps the composer's best-known guitar composition, together with the Sonatina, the Variations & Fugue on a Theme of Handel are dedicated to the great guitarist Andres Segovia, who was the first to record it. The work is highly influenced by the Spanish guitarist's style. In it Handel's theme is treated with highly original variations that rapidly transform the material and it's meaning. The three short Fantastic Dances, commissioned by the Guitar Foundation of America, were written in 1988, and although written in the same tuning they each present clearly different material and characters. The element that binds them is their brilliance and dynamism. They were composed as a compulsory piece for an international competition held that year. Other information: - Recording completed in December 2023 in Rome, Italy - Booklet in English contains liner notes by the guitarist on the composer and the works, and a profile of the artist - Michele di Filippo plays a guitar by Antonino Scandurra - Albert Harris (1916-2005) was an English musician who worked most of his life in Hollywood as an orchestrator, arranger and composer for several of the big Film Studios and for such pop icons as Barbra Streisand, Roberta Flack and Cher. - Harris was born in London and studied piano from age 6 and was also a self-taught guitarist; his knowledge of this instrument enabled him in later years to compose pieces specifically for guitar, his Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel were recorded by Andres Segovia. In America he won the National Composer's Award for his "Concerto de California" scored for guitar and String Quartet. Among those nominating Harris was Aaron Copland with whom Harris shares a harmonic language that, in the words of Ned Rorem, "sounds like the great outdoors". - This new recording presents the complete works for guitar solo, consisting of a Suite, a Sonatina, Variations & Fugue on a theme of Handel and 3 Fantastic Dances. - Played with commitment and feeling for the idiom by Michele Di Filippo.

The most complete set ever issued of the non-operatic music by the composer best known for verismo masterpieces such as L'arlesiana and Adriana Lecouvreur. Born in Palmi (in the Calabrian province of Italy) in 1866, at the tender age of seven Cilea was sent to Naples to study law. He found the idea of becoming a musician far more attractive, however, having been entranced by a performance of Bellini's Norma at the age of four. Against his parents' wishes he enrolled at the city's conservatoire in Naples to study piano, harmony and counterpoint. There he proceeded to excel, and he soon came to the notice of the influential publishers Sonzogno. The scores by which we know Cilea were written within a relatively short period of 15 years either side of the turn of the last century. The failure of his last opera Gloria in 1907 (despite the presence of Toscanini on the podium) hit Cilea's confidence badly. He effectively retired from writing for the stage, but he continued to compose in other genres, resulting in most of the music featured here. The orchestral suites, chamber music and songs share with his better-known operas a cultivated gift for melody, but the Suite for Violin and the Piccola Suite for Orchestra (CD1) reveal Cilea's careful attention to counterpoint and scoring as well as an approach to tonal harmony that reflects his awareness of innovation, especially among French composers of the period. The Cello Sonata and Piano Trio on CD2 predate his operatic career, being written in the late 1880s in a more Brahmsian vein. He composed the piano works on CD3-4 through the course of his career, but around 1900 he began to alternate more conventional pieces (aimed at middleclass Italian audiences steeped in opera) with more novel experiments in timbre, such as Au village Op.34, which features a witty interplay of echoes and interwoven voices. Many of the piano pieces are also essentially neoclassical in spirit, like the concertante suites on CD1, whereas the songs on CD6 belong to the salon, while embodying Cilea's lifelong love of the human voice: 'The true instrument of expression of the passions is the divine human voice, with which no instrument can ever rival'. All the recordings in this set were made in Italy by native musicians, steeped in Cilea's idiom, within the last 10 years, and received critical praise when first issued. - A new issue in the attractive and innovative series "Italian Romantics", featuring Italian composers from the turn of the 19/20th century in instrumental music. - Francesco Cilea (1866-1950) is best known for his operas, particularly "Adriana Lecouvreur." However, his contributions to instrumental music are equally valuable. Though less renowned than his operatic output, Cilea's instrumental works exhibit a melodic richness and emotional depth characteristic of the Romantic era. The orchestral works show his mastery of lyrical themes and dramatic expression. His works are imbued with a sense of Italianate warmth and passion, reflecting the composer's deep connection to his native land. - This collection presents orchestral and concertante works, a cello sonata and piano trio, and the complete piano music. - Artists include I Virtuosi della Scala (Filippo Arlia, conductor), Enrico Bronzi and Pier Paolo Vincenzi.

An audiophile-grade LP transfer of a 2006 hit from the Brilliant Classics catalogue: stylish and exuberant accounts of some of Shostakovich's most popular orchestral music. Shostakovich's fluency in light music, and the sharp profile of his personality in an unexpected context, can still come as a shock. Yet he always sounded like himself, no less than Prokofiev or Stravinsky did, whether writing for string quartet or jazz band. And even in these suites of sly foxtrots and waltzes, a double-edged quality emerges, at once smoochy and sinister, depending as much on the mood of the listener as the intrinsic nature of the music. From 1934, the First Jazz Suite vividly brings a smoky Soviet jazz club to the mind's eye, with it's wailing solo trumpet and parody mandolin. At the same time, the distilled invention of the three brief movements sheds light on Shostakovich's early experience as a pianist accompanying silent films - capturing a scene or at atmosphere in sound almost at will. The Second Jazz Suite - also confusingly known as the First Suite for Variety Orchestra - is a later concoction by Gerard McBurney after the score of the original, composed in 1938, was lost during the war. While the Festive Overture is well known as a riotous concert-opener, it's later companion is still a rarity, at least in concert. Shostakovich wrote the Overture on Russian and Kirghiz Folk Songs in 1963, in honour of the centenary of Kirghizia's voluntary incorporation into the Russian State. As an occasional work, solemn and ceremonial, it has been overlooked alongside the Twelfth Symphony from two years earlier, but this Ukrainian recording colours it with an authentically sharp edge and steel gleam. Reviewing the Jazz Suites on their original release, Classics Today remarked that 'The National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine achieves an authentic sound - lithe rather than lush - for this music and plays with excellent ensemble. Conductor Theodore Kuchar deserves credit for making the suite consistently entertaining. The listener at least gets to hear these chips from the master's workbench in friendly performances.'

Although Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck (1562-1621) is now best known for his keyboard music, it was his vocal works that were published during his lifetime. Perhaps his greatest achievement ass a composer was the polyphonic settings for between four and eight voices of all 153 psalms based on the French metrical Psalter of Clement Marot and Theodore de Beze. Published in four volumes between 1604 and 1621, this huge work is one of the great monuments of Protestant sacred polyphony. This 3CD selection from the psalms makes an ideal introduction to them, being performed by a professional Dutch choir, experts in early music and in Renaissance Dutch style in particular, and directed by a number of illustrious names including Paul van Nevel, Philippe Herreweghe, William Christie, Ton Koopman and Peter Philips. The Netherlands Chamber Choir were pioneers in their field, at a time when choirs were behind the pace of instrumental ensembles in terms of taking on a modern understanding of how to perform this repertoire, with smaller forces, tight intonation, pure tone and dynamic thrust of phrase. The selection illustrates the variety and ingenuity to be found in Sweelinck's vocal output as a whole. There is robust, Venetian-style polyphony; elegantly fluid counterpoint; and straightforward, hymn-like simplicity of gesture. Sweelinck shapes and manipulates his original psalm melodies with an imaginative freedom worthy of Bach in his chorale settings. Like Bach, he is a master word-painter, whether evoking concepts of life and death or down-to-earth images of flora and fauna. Recorded in the late 80s at churches in Amsterdam and Haarlem, these performance attracted critical praise when first released, for the 'first-class' vocal ensemble and engineering. This reissue includes full annotations on Sweelinck and the psalm settings included. - Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck was a highly influential Dutch composer, organist, and teacher of the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Among his most notable works are his settings of the Psalms, which show his mastery in both vocal and instrumental music. Sweelinck's Psalms are based on the Genevan Psalter, a collection of psalm settings originally developed by the Protestant reformers, particularly for congregational singing in Reformed churches. - Sweelinck's versions of the Psalms elevate these simple melodies with intricate polyphonic settings, blending Renaissance counterpoint with early Baroque elements. His innovative use of harmony, counterpoint, and expressive text setting reflects his ability to bridge the two eras of music. The Psalms are notable for their emotional depth and variety, capturing the moods of the texts - ranging from joy and praise to lamentation and supplication. - These recordings of a selection from the in total 150 Psalms were made in the 1980s and 1990s, by the famous Netherlands Chamber Choir, conducted by the most notable Early Music conductors of the time: William Christie, Ton Koopman, Peter Phillips, Jan Boeke, Philippe Herreweghe and Paul van Nevel. The choir is supported by a rich instrumental ensemble. - Truly legendary recordings of timeless Choral treasures from the Netherlands! Originally issued by NM Classics.

Genius innovator - inspiring past and present! Claudio Monteverdi lived in Italy during a very turbulent time and was one of the great designers of the new style in music. As a young man he learned the ancient laws of composing, especially from Marcantonio Ingegneri. Under his inspiration he wrote his first book of madrigals. We can follow his life closely through the final 9 books of madrigals. Each book is a new moment in his development as a composer. Ultimately, he gets his dream job in Venice as maestro di cappella, but he writes operas and other musical spectacles for other courts, including Mantua, Milan, Turin and Parma. He enjoyed the recognition that finally came for that little boy from insignificant Cremona. The book consists of 9 chapters, one per madrigal book and has 128 pages in total. Looking from Monteverdi's perspective, and also from the perspective of the performer, the contemporary enthusiast. Mesmerized by the beautiful courtly poetry, but also intrigued by the innovator Monteverdi who is always looking for other ways to express emotion in music in a special way. Each chapter focuses on one characteristic madrigal. The book comes with a CD so you can listen to all the wonderful works.

Laments of lost and betrayed love from 17th-century Italy: musical portraits to be set beside contemporary paintings by Gentilesschi in their contained power and violence. While the featured composers in this recital were born and worked in contrasting provinces of Italy, most of them shared common goals and aesthetic principles. The text came first, and the music was always servant to it. The sweet torment of a broken heart drew from them long-breathed melodies, supported by spare but painfully chromatic harmony. The melody itself was always articulated according to the shape of the text, fitting one to the other like a hand in a silk glove. Eleni Lydia Stamellou and Konstantin Shenikov have made their own selection from a rich treasury of available repertoire in this vein. The album takes it's title from the final track, 'Oblivion soave', drawn from Monteverdi's final opera, 'L'incoronazione di Poppea'. The aria exemplifies Enlightenment values of humanism which inspire self-examination as well as 'sweet oblivion'.They include perhaps the most famous lost-love song of all, at least until the age of Lieder, Caccini's 'Amarilli, mia bella', and comparably familiar masterpieces in the genre such as Monteverdi's 'Si dolce 'l tormento' and Peri's 'Tora, deh torna'. There is also space for the no less subtle art of Andrea Falconieri, as well as several songs by Barbara Strozzi, one of the most successful women composers of the time; indeed, she was the most prolific composer - of either gender - of printed secular vocal music in Venice around the middle of the 17th century. Eleni Lydia Stamellou is a Greek soprano, specialising in this Renaissance-era repertoire as well as new music and Lieder. As a member of Music Aeterna, she has sung operatic roles conducted by Teodor Currentzis including Despina (Cosi fan tutte) and Pierrot in Schoenberg's cabaret-monodrama. The lutenist Konstantin Shenikov has been a regular member of early-opera productions led in Russia by Andrew Lawrence-King. - A beautifully conceived program of Renaissance and early Baroque songs and arias, sung by Greek soprano Eleni Lydia Stamellou, accompanied on the lute by Konstantin Shenikov. - The featured composers are Monteverdi (1567-1643), Frescobaldi (1583-1643), Caccini (1551-1618), Strozzi (baptized 1619-1677), Peri (1561-1633) and Falconieri (ca. 1585-1656). The secular texts deal with Love, in both it's sublime fulfillment and it's melancholy abandonment. - Greek soprano Eleni Lydia Stamellou won Second Prize at the Ferruccio Tagliavini Competition in Austria, with Dame Joan Sutherland as the president of the jury. She subsequently attended masterclasses given by Teresa Berganza, Edda Moser and Christa Ludwig. She sang in opera productions with MusicAeterna conducted by Teodor Currentzis. Her specialization is Renaissance/Baroque and Contemporary Music. She sang in productions of Berio and Hersant.

A young violinist, paired with one of the most renowned Lisztians of our day, make an illuminating and harmonious partnership in an exquisite body of modern classics for the duo. Very few 20th-century pieces have entered the canon of literature for violin and piano as universally as the Mythes of Karol Szymanowski. Alongside the sonatas of Janacek and Prokofiev, for example, the cycle embodies the style of it's composer at his most characteristic. In Szymanowski's case, the Mythes draw on a sensuous language of impressionism but also a Russian school of violin playing, and a fragrance in the melodies that is unique to him. Italian critics have been extravagant in their praise of Francesca Bonaita. Her repertoire already includes modern classics such as the concertos by Barber, Zimmermann and Schnittke, indicating the kind of affinity with modernist idioms which makes this Szymanowski disc so striking as a demonstration of her musicianship. Having graduated from the conservatoire in Milan as a student of Sergei Krylov, she furthered her studies in Lugano while attracting notice for her performances in many international violin competitions. The pianist Saskia Giorgini is well known as a Lisztian, with several outstanding albums to her credit, and as a sympathetic recital partner to outstanding musicians of our day such as Ian Bostridge and Vilde Frang. The duo have written a note for this new album of Szymanowski which both explains the background to each of the major works - the Mythes, the early Sonata and the composer's late transcriptions of three Paganini caprices - while underlining their intellectual grasp of this music as it falls under their fingers. As they note, Szymanowski was initially inspired by the examples of Franck and Brahms in writing his own, opulent Violin Sonata in 1909. Gradually he found his voice, helped along the way in particular by his friendship with the violinist Pavel Kochanski. It was Kochanski who gave both technical advice and inspiration to Szymanowski as he composed the two violin concertos and the trio of Mythes which are his culminating work in the field of chamber music: 'a mystical synthesis of the sensual and the divine', as they encapsulate it's elusive sequence of moods. Karol Szymanowski (1882-1937) was one of Poland's most important and original composers. Szymanowski's style is eclectic, standing in the long romantic tradition. He imbued his works with exoticisms, impressionistic flourishes and a general sense of freedom and imagination. The works for violin and piano were composed for the famous Polish violinist Paul Kochanski. The most important works are the substantial Second Violin Sonata and the cycle Myths, both appearing regularly on concert programs nowadays. Played by rising star Francesca Bonaita with pianist Saskia Giorgini, whose Piano Classics and Pentatone recordings have won many awards (Critic's Choice) and 5 star reviews.

A unique take on Mozart's music from the organ loft. Mozart wrote sparingly for the solo organ - a relatively early collection of short Epistle Sonatas for liturgical use, and later on a few more individual pieces for a new mechanical organ. In neither case was he using the full extent of a large instrument as exploited by his Baroque predecessors. At the same time, Mozart himself was no stranger to the organ loft; he would have been regularly playing the instrument at St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna had his plans come to fruition and he had lived long enough to attain the post of Director of Music there. Manuel Tomadin has imaginatively filled in this gap in the Mozart catalogue, as it were, with his own transcriptions of pieces particularly well suited to the soundworld of the organ. The A minor Sonata K310 shares a surging, Sturm und Drang sensibility with the two fantasias, in C minor and D minor. In turn this character lends itself to the Gothic grandeur of the 'king of instruments', when sensitively registered and nimbly executed. The coloristic possibilities of the organ, it's dynamic range and effects of perspective, are also put to dramatic use in bringing to life two of Mozart's opera overtures, from Cosi fan tutte and Die Zauberflote. Tomadin does not neglect the roots of Mozart's music in the Baroque, with a transcription of the rococo G major sonata K283 which he wrote at the age of 18, plus a much less familiar Preludio and Capriccio in C K394. In both of these pieces, Mozart was drawing on the legacy of CPE Bach, who had given him lessons as a child - a period to which Tomadin pays tribute with another rarity, one of the 'London Sketches' preserved in notebook form from the family's stay in the English capital. Tomadin has chosen an original and historically appropriate instrument for this fascinating exploration of Mozart on the organ, built in the late 1780s by the Montesanti firm for the parish church of Governolo in the province of Lombardy. The booklet includes a full specification of the organ, plus Tomadin's own introduction to the repertoire and his approach to it as a transcriber and performer. - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) had a profound connection with the church organ, an instrument that played a significant role in his musical development. As a child prodigy, Mozart was exposed to the organ in church settings, where he often performed. The organ's grandeur and complexity influenced his compositional style, particularly in his sacred music. - Although Mozart called it "The King of instruments" he wrote comparatively few works for the organ. Organist Manuel Tomadin professes his love for the composer and his considerable skill as an organist by transcribing several works for the organ: the overtures Cosi fan tutte and Die Zauberflote, two piano sonatas K 283 and 310, and several small keyboard works, perfectly suited for performance on the organ. - Played on a historical instrument: the 1788-1790 Andrea & Luigi Montesanti organ of the Parish Church of Governolo, Italy. - A feast of colours and timbres, celebrating the genius of Mozart's eternal music!

A monumental collection of German-Baroque keyboard literature, presented complete for the first time on record, and coupled with dance suites by an unfamiliar name of the late German Baroque. The modern-day reputation of Christian Petzold (1677-1733) is almost wholly based on a single, modest minuet. Known to generations of young pianists as 'the Minuet in G', it was included by Bach in one of the notebooks of pieces he gave to his wife, Anna Magdalena, for her instruction. In turn this led to the minuet itself being mistakenly attributed to Bach himself. Yet much more of Petzold's output has survived, and only now is it coming to light. Having recorded complete sets of many unsung heroes of the German Baroque, Fernando de Luca now turns to the collection of no fewer than 25 'Concertos' for solo harpsichord by Petzold. Published in 1729 as 'Receuil des XXV', the collection first appeared in Dresden, where Petzold was organist to the royal court. The form of these concertos is Italianate, and their heavily ornate soundworld is recognisable from the better-known example of Vivaldi and Corelli. There are dance movements here and there - including minuets - but the predominant genres are determined by tempo: Allegro, Larghetto, Presto and so on. They make such an immediately attractive effect that it is surprising they are not better known, and this release will attract the attention of all adventurous listeners to Baroque rarities. Fernando de Luca pairs the 25 concertos of Petzold with a collection of three 'Parthias' - partitas by another name - from an even more obscure figure, Isfrid Kayser. Known as 'Concors digitorum discordia', this collection was published in Augsburg in 1746 and conforms to the conventions of a Baroque suite with it's graceful sequences of dances, prefaced by a grand overture and concluding with a dashing Presto movement. As so often, Fernando de Luca demonstrates his abilities to revive this music with lucid phrasing, lively registration and an unfailing sense of Baroque style. Scholarly background on both composers is provided in the booklet with an essay by Francesca Scotti. Christian Petzold (1677-1733) was a German organist and composer, holding court positions in Dresden. From 1703, he was organist at the Sophienkirche in Dresden and from 1709 also chamber composer at the Saxon court there. Extensive concert tours took him to Paris in 1714 and Venice in 1716.